The present disclosure is related to support structures and namely, support structures that provide impedance against the migration of elements and that alleviates support requirements for underlying support frames.
At one time, folks didn't require a whole lot of living space. Houses were small, functional, and most likely only on a single level. If a homeowner wanted or needed more living space, he could just “bump out” his dwelling and daisy chain his living quarters until it resembled an above ground version of a rabbit warren.
Times have changed. In many real estate markets, it is pretty near impossible to even find a single level property. With a demand for larger, more spacious homes combining with higher and higher land prices, it often just doesn't make sense to build a sprawling single level home—even where land is relatively flat. Not surprisingly, home builders have eschewed single level designs in favor of building multi-story dwellings.
With the growing demand for multi-story homes, came the demand for outdoor living space accessible from the upper stories of those homes. A drive through just about any housing development younger than 20 years will inevitably reveal at least one example of just such a phenomenon. It is common to see decks 10 to 20 feet off the ground with access to the house through a doorway leading from a kitchen, den, master bedroom or some other living space found in the home's upper story. Further, because the decks are so high off the ground, it is another common feature that the space underneath the deck functions as a service area, parking space, or ground level outdoor living space of one kind or another.
Because the space beneath an upper story deck is so often used by a home owner in some way or another, a demand has emerged for systems or products that can provide a measure of protection from the elements that drip from the deck above. For example, because decks are intentionally built with a slight grade to shed water, rain falling on an upper story deck surface will find its way between decking boards and onto to the space below. As a result of exposure to the water dripping from above, the area beneath a deck may be limited in its usefulness.
There are many products on the market designed to alleviate, or at least mitigate, the exposure of an area beneath a deck to water raining down from the deck surface above. While each system currently on the market has its unique design elements, a common aspect among them is their mutual exclusivity from the load bearing components of a typically constructed deck. More specifically, current products designed to protect the area beneath a deck are usually of a retrofit design intended to be installed on a plane defined by the bottom of existing wooden deck joists. Therefore, current systems are not designed to be structural, load bearing members of the deck. Rather, current deck systems designed to protect the area beneath a deck simply close in the space occupied by the existing wooden joists with the purpose of capturing any water or debris falling through the decking surface.
While moderately effective, the current systems outlined above have common shortfalls. First, the requirement of being retrofitted to existing joists means that current systems represent an added component offering limited or no structural benefit. Second, because a large space encompassing the joists is captured, wooden joists are exposed to any moisture not drained from the system. Third, the complexities of the current systems usually necessitate installation by trained professionals in order to guarantee water ingress resistant integrity.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a structural deck drainage system that can replace traditional joists in outdoor deck construction and is also operable to protect the area beneath the deck from any elements originating from the deck surface.